Matson to reduce fuel surcharge by record amount

Matson Inc., the state’s largest ocean cargo carrier, is lowering its fuel surcharge for Hawaii for the second time this year.

The company announced Thursday that it will reduce the charge by 7 percentage points — from 31.5 percent to 24.5 percent — effective Sunday in response to falling bunker fuel prices.

The move, Matson said, should save customers $140 to $245 per container.

Since November, Matson has reduced its fuel surcharge four times by a total of 18 percentage points.

The upcoming decrease is the biggest single reduction since Matson instituted the surcharge in 1999. The last time the surcharge was lower was in September 2010 when the it was 21.75 percent.